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  Scrubber for methanol production systemRelated Patent Categories: Chemistry: Fischer-tropsch Processes; Or Purification Or Recovery Of Products Thereof, With Preliminary Reaction To Form Hydrogen Or A Carbon OxideThe Patent Description & Claims data below is from USPTO Patent Application 20060223892. Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] This application is claims priority to U.S. application Ser. No. 11/319,093 filed on Dec. 27, 2005 and is a continuation-in-part application of U.S. application Ser. No. 10/901,717 filed on Jul. 29, 2004. The disclosures of the above applications are incorporated by reference. FIELD [0002] The present disclosure relates to a system and method for producing methanol. BACKGROUND [0003] The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art. [0004] Methods and apparatuses for the conversion of methane into methanol are known. It is known to carry out a vapor-phase conversion of methane into a synthesis gas (mixture of CO and H.sub.2) with its subsequent catalytic conversion into methanol as disclosed, for example, in Karavaev M. M., Leonov B. E., et al "Technology of Synthetic Methanol", Moscow, "Chemistry" 1984, pages 72-125. However, in order to realize this process it is necessary to provide a complicated equipment, to satisfy high requirements to purity of gas, to spend high quantities of energy for obtaining the synthesis gas and for its purification, and to have a significant number of intermittent stages from the process. Also, for medium and small enterprises with the capacity less than 2,000 tons/day it is not efficient. [0005] Russian Patent No. 2,162,460 includes a source of hydrocarbon-containing gas, a compressor and a heater for compression and heating of gas, a source of oxygen-containing gas with a compressor. It further includes successively arranged reactors with alternating mixing and reaction zones and means to supply the hydrocarbon-containing gas into a first mixing zone of the reactor and the oxygen-containing zone into each mixing zone, a recuperative heat exchanger for cooling of the reaction, mixture through a wall by a stream of cold hydrocarbon-containing gas of the heated hydrocarbon-containing gas into a heater, a cooler-condenser, a partial condenser for separation of waste gasses and liquid products with a subsequent separation of methanol, a pipeline for supply of the waste gas into the initial hydrocarbon-containing gas, and a pipeline for supply of waste oxygen-containing products into the first mixing zone of the reactor. [0006] In this apparatus, however, it is not possible to provide a fast withdrawal of heat of the highly exothermic reaction of oxidation of the hydrocarbon-containing gas because of the inherent limitations of the heat exchanger. This leads to the necessity to reduce the quantity of supplied hydrocarbon-containing gas and, further, it reduces the degree of conversion of the hydrocarbon-containing gas. Moreover, even with the use of oxygen as an oxidizer, it is not possible to provide an efficient recirculation of the hydrocarbon-containing gas due to fast increase of concentration of carbon oxides in it. A significant part of the supplied oxygen is wasted for oxidation of CO into C0.sub.2, which additionally reduces the degree of conversion of the initial hydrocarbon-containing gas and provides a further overheating of the reaction mixture. The apparatus also requires burning of an additional quantity of the initial hydrocarbon-containing gas in order to provide a stage of rectification of liquid products with vapor. Since it is necessary to cool the gas-liquid mixture after each reactor for separation of liquid products and subsequent heating before a next reactor, the apparatus is substantially complicated, the number of units is increased, and additional energy is wasted. [0007] A further method and apparatus for producing methanol is disclosed in the patent document RU 2,200,731, in which compressed heated hydrocarbon-containing gas and compressed oxygen-containing gas are introduced into mixing zones of successively arranged reactors, and the reaction is performed with a controlled heat pick-up by cooling of the reaction mixture with water condensate so that steam is obtained, and a degree of cooling of the reaction mixture is regulated by parameters of escaping steam, which is used in liquid product rectification stage. [0008] Other patent documents such as U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,196,188; 2,722,553; 4,152,407; 4,243,613; 4,530,826; 5,177,279; 5.959,168 and International Publication WO 96/06901 disclose further solutions for transformation of hydrocarbons. [0009] It is believed that the existing methods and apparatus for producing methanol can be further improved. SUMMARY [0010] It is accordingly an object of the present disclosure to provide a system and method for producing methanol, which is a further improvement of the existing methods and apparatuses. [0011] It is another feature of the present teachings to provide a system and method for producing methanol which can be used with minimal processing of gas and gas-condensate deposits, and also at any gas consumer, such as power plants, gas distributing and gas reducing stations, chemical production facilities, etc., or small methane producers, (i.e., coal mines, oil production (flares), landfills, farms.) [0012] In keeping with these objects and with others which will become apparent hereinafter, one feature of the present disclosure resides, briefly stated, in a method of producing methanol, which includes the steps of supplying into a reactor a methane-containing gas stream and an oxygen containing gas; oxidizing the methane-containing gas in the reactor using oxygen of the oxygen-containing gas; and, after scrubbing impurities and products of the reaction, including but not limited to carbon dioxide, water, formaldehyde, and methanol, recycling unreacted methane gas into the methane-containing gas stream for further reaction. [0013] Another feature of the present teachings is a system for producing methanol, which has a reactor for receiving and reacting a methane-containing gas stream with an oxygen-containing gas. The system also has a mechanism for supplying into the reactor a non-oxidizing coolant to be directly mixed with a mixture of the methane-containing gas and oxygen containing gas at a later stage of the reaction to inhibit the decomposition of formaldehyde. The coolant functions to inhibit the oxidation or decomposition of the formaldehyde product. Unreacted methane gas is then processed in a scrubber to remove reaction products and contaminants before being recycled back into the methane-containing gas stream. In various embodiments, the scrubber uses a process component absorbent, for example a mixture of methanol and water, and additionally serves as a condenser. The spent absorbent is regenerated after each pass through the scrubber. A side stream may be provided for removal of carbon dioxide, water, formaldehyde, and methanol in an amount substantially equal to that entering the scrubber at steady state. [0014] As can be seen, in accordance with the present teachings, a gas phase oxidation of the methane-containing gas is performed at elevated temperature and pressure in the reaction zone. The reaction mixture is cooled and directed to a scrubber for removal of carbon dioxide, water, methanol, and formaldehyde, and is recycled and combined with the raw methane-containing gas stream. In certain embodiments, cold methane-containing gas is supplied into a regulation zone of the reactor to reduce the reaction temperature, for example by about 30 to about 90.degree. C., and thereby to provide a production and a redistribution of the ratio of products to produce corresponding quantities of methanol and formaldehyde. [0015] The novel features which are considered as characteristic for the present disclosure are set forth in particular in the appended claims. The disclosure itself, however, both as to its construction and its method of operation, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, will be best understood from the following description of specific embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawings. DRAWINGS [0016] The drawings described herein are for illustration purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure in any way. [0017] FIG. 1 schematically illustrates a system for producing methanol in accordance with the present teachings; [0018] FIG. 2 illustrates a more detailed view of the reactor as shown in the system of FIG. 1; and [0019] FIG. 3 illustrates a more detailed view of the scrubber as shown in the system of FIG. 1. Continue reading... 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